Devilish Friends
by Akulaledi
Summary: Opening the front door, he was greeted with a bustling energy and loud laughter from the dimly lit large pub area. Kazuya immediately warmed up when he could pick out a familiar laugh out of the rest. Scouring the pub for the face that went with the familiar laughter, his face brightened when he found the owner. #redthreadszine Misawa


I had a lot of fun with my first zine! I based it on the Polish story of Rokita and Boruta and my art partner was Theazzerare. Check out their work if you get a chance.

The folklore:

Rokita was a generous villain who lived with other bandits on Chyb mountain. He would rob rich merchants and hand over the spoils to the villagers. Boruta, inhabited the cellar of Łęczyca castle in central Poland. He wore a long overcoat to hide his tail and a hat to cover his horns. Rokita and Boruta were drinking buddies. One night they were enjoying a merry evening in an inn in Łodz when the barman refused to sell them another pint. Rokita paid but turned the coins into burning chips. The owner was duly paid but he couldn't take his earnings.

X_X_X_xx_X_X_X **Devilish Friends** X_X_X_xx_X_X_X

The cold night air fogged up his glasses as he walked down the dimly lit street. His breath came out in puffs of steam and he pulled his dark colored woolen _sukmana_ jacket tighter around himself. It was going to be a cold winter this year.

Kazuya wasn't fond of the cold, because it was a hindrance to him and his work. Frowning as the wind picked up, he pulled the hat he was wearing lower down on his head. His destination was only down two more streets and he knew he would be warmed instantly once he was there. Increasing his speed, Kazuya hurried.

A few minutes later he was in front of an inn, he'd been here a few times before in the past. Opening the front door, he was greeted with a bustling energy and loud laughter from the dimly lit large pub area. Kazuya immediately warmed up when he could pick out a familiar laugh out of the rest. Scouring the pub for the face that went with the familiar laughter, his face brightened when he found the owner.

Bright golden eyes lit up with joy once they were turned on Kazuya. The man he was looking for waved his hand and called him over.

"Kazuya! It's about time you got here!"

Kazuya squeezed himself through the crowd and joined the man at his table.

"I'm sorry Eijun, my meeting ran late."

"Oh well, all that matters is that you're here now."

"True, true."

Kazuya sat across from Eijun and lightly motioned to the people around them.

"So are these your new friends?"

"Yes, they're farmers from around here. We're celebrating a successful harvest season."

"Oh, and how much of this successful season is due to _my_ nobles?" Kazuya's eyes glinted playfully at Eijun.

"All of it." Eijun smiled sweetly. "I convinced a number of them to kindly donate more money to the farms around here when they passed through."

"I see...you do know that skews my numbers, right?" Kazuya began to shrug his jacket off and placed it around his chair.

"Oh please, Kazuya, your numbers are always skewed. _Your_ nobles are as crooked as they come."

"That may be true, but you're the reason I'm late—I had to listen to a bunch of grown men whine over how much money they spent on agriculture this year."

Eijun rolled his eyes and huffed. "Don't they know that they'll make more money when the crops sell?"

"**_We_** know that, but those people get more corrupt every new generation. They don't care about the things that can keep them alive anymore, just the things that glitter."

Eijun hummed in agreement. "So true. Everything is about the money these days. These poor farmers are just barely scraping by. Well... that is until I stepped in this year."

Kazuya leaned forward with a frown. "You shouldn't meddle so much with their affairs. They need to learn how to support themselves without your help."

"That's rich coming from you." Eijun leaned forward as well, his lips lifting enough in a smile to show a hint of fangs. "Mister 'I live in a noble's basement and make a living off their misery'."

"Hey, you know I pay my fair share to live there. And I'm a certified accountant, thank you very much."

"Ah! Even _worse_ than a noble." Eijun leaned farther forward and whispered at him.

Kazuya rolled his eyes at him. "Anyways, why haven't you ordered anything yet? I'm thirsty."

"I was waiting on you. I'd have drank half of all the beer here already if I started without you."

"That's fair, we did drink the last bar out of their wine stock last time."

"Yes and I'd like to spend all the time I can with you tonight. I think there's a lot to catch up on." Eijun sat back in his chair. "It's been a while."

"Oh, well let's start then." Kazuya flashed Eijun a smirk. "Why don't we move over to the bar?"

"After you." Eijun said as he got up from his chair and gathered up his own _sukmana_ from the back of his chair.

They squeezed themselves in at the crowded bar and waved one of the two bartenders down so they could order. While they waited they made light conversation.

"This place hasn't changed much," Eijun mused.

"Eijun, it hasn't changed in the past few years. You say this every time we come here." Kazuya rolled his eyes.

"That bartender is new." Eijun pointed at the smaller of the two men behind the bar.

"True, he looks like he's handling this crowd rather well."

"Mm, let's make him work for his tip shall we?" Eijun's eyes shone with mischief.

Kazuya responded with a sly smile. "I really missed you."

The smaller bartender brought them over their first drinks and they immediately ordered their next three. The man barely looked phased by this, most likely from already having to deal with a rowdy crowd all night.

The two of them sucked down their first beer and waited for the next one. Then sucked down the next one and then the next one, laughing and conversing. They looked at their bartender expectantly when their glasses were running low.

"Do you gentlemen want a pitcher instead?" The small bartender asked when he came back with a fifth round. Eijun and Kazuya looked at each other and shrugged.

"I think we'd prefer a whole barrel instead." Kazuya answered easily with a crooked smile.

"A barrel?" The bartender asked, unsure.

"A barrel!" Eijun confirmed loudly and slammed his cup down with a smile.

"I see...one moment please," The bartender muttered and turned to the other, larger bartender with a bushy beard. He spoke lowly and made a jerky head movement towards the two. When the other bartender looked up, he visibly paled when he saw them. The two men smiled widely at them, exposing fangs, and held up their empty glasses. The large bartender quickly muttered to the smaller one and pushed him to the side so he could walk up to the two.

"Gentlemen, it is wonderful to see you again. I did not notice your arrival."

Kazuya's eyebrows rose briefly. How could he **_not_** have heard Eijun arrive? Nevertheless he leaned forward.

"Hmm, yes. My friend and I are in the mood to drink. We'd like to order a barrel's worth of the house beer; we're going to be here for awhile."

"Of course, let me see what we have in stock," The large bartender said gruffly and turned to speak to the other man behind the bar before slipping into the back storage room.

Eijun nudged Kazuya with his elbow.

"Seems he's become more accommodating since last time."

"Well, that's probably due to his cash register and counter bursting into flames last time we were here, you devious devil." Kazuya chuckled.

"It was rude to tell us we had had enough to drink. Then, on top of that, he was muttering how my attitude with you was "inappropriate"." Eijun huffed and blushed lightly.

"Well, to them it must seem inappropriate when you get handsy with another male." Kazuya leaned towards Eijun and threw an arm around his shoulders.

"It's not like I get handsy with just _anyone_!" Eijun turned his head towards Kazuya and whispered harshly.

"Oh? Is that so? " Kazuya's eyes flickered warm amber and met with bright gold ones. "Am I special?"

"You know you are." Eijun grumbled.

"I know, it's just always nice to hear out loud every so often." Kazuya smiled and rubbed his thumb in shallow circles on the back of Eijun's neck. The other man shivered slightly.

The bartender with the bushy beard stepped back out from the storage room and approached the two men.

"Gentlemen, you're in luck. I have a few barrels in the back I can sell to you."

"Wonderful, we'll take just one tonight." Kazuya said as he dropped his hand from Eijun's neck.

"Only one?" Eijun asked with a frown.

"Yes, only one, my dearest friend."

Eijun pouted but nodded his head. The bartender brought over the barrel with help from his coworker and set it up so the two could drink from it. The two men paced themselves now. They talked for hours while nursing their glasses. Their cheeks were rosy by their last few glasses. The pub was beginning to thin out as the time passed.

The beer sat comfortably in Kazuya's stomach and made him feel pleasantly warm. He felt something soft slither up his leg and then down to curl around his ankle. Knowing it to be the tail of his companion, he responded to the touch by wrapping his own appendage around Eijun's.

"You know, Kazuya, I have a room upstairs. We could have another barrel brought up there." Eijun said softly, an amorous smile on his lips. His eyes glowed a soft gold.

"As tempting as that sounds, I don't think we require another barrel to go upstairs." Kazuya smirked and leaned forward to tuck a piece of hair behind Eijun's ear.

"No? Then let's put this on a tab and pay it in the morning." Eijun pushed back from the bar and waved one of the bartenders down to them. After a brief conversation, Eijun snagged Kazuya's sleeve and tugged him towards the stairs to go upwards.

"Have I ever mentioned how much of a devil you are?" Kazuya's smirk remained on his face as he wrapped his arm around Eijun's waist while they walked.

"Many, many times my friend." Eijun's eyes shone as he returned the smirk and they both disappeared up the stairs with a laugh.

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I'M NOT DEAD!


End file.
